Circulation:
Area of Clip:
Page 1 of 5
RTE Guide
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Page:
1,12,13,14,15
LISTINGS:
MARCH
29-APRIL
4,2014
84018
315000mm²
CATHERINE FULVIO'S
EASYMOTHER'S
DAYMENU
• He's
fourand
ahalfmonths
nowand
he's
CAN
EASTENDERS
BE
GREAT
AGAIN?
BEHINDTHE
SCENES
ON
MASTERCHEF
i?-*< WKhagsti
WAR
HORSE
f y
COMESTO
W
SEAN
BAN
BREATHNACH
45YEARS
BEHINDTHEMI
Circulation:
Area of Clip:
Page 2 of 5
RTE Guide
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Page:
1,12,13,14,15
COVERSTORY
WATCHIT!Prime Time, Mon, Tues &Thurs, RTE One;
®
LISTEN!Saturday with Claire Byrne & Morning Ireland, Mon-Fri, RTE Radio 1
-mm
It'sbeensucha
dramaticyearfor
ClaireByrne,from
engagementto
motherhoodto new
job,that shevery
nearlyforgotherown
Mother'sDay.Donal
O'Donoghuemeets
the broadcasterand
orryGod”,says
ClaireByrne,with
a bashfullook
heavenwards.
The
RTEjournalist,
whohas spentthe
morningbeingphotographedin
variousoutfits,hasjust emergedfrom
a churchin CountyLaois.Thatwas
forher finalcostumechange.Claire
was goingto attemptthewardrobe
contortionsin her caruntilwe
persuadedherthatit wasprobably
bestto use the emptychurchand
we’dstandguardat the door,just
in case.So off shegoes,in andout
in a jiffy,backinjeans andjumper,
job done.That’sClaireB foryou:a
countrygirlat heart,onceyou strip
awaythe glossyshootsand shake
the dustof celebrity.Rightnowshe
is happyin love(engagedto Gerry
12 RTt GUIDE
somewhatunlikelycareerpath.
Scollan),joyous with motherhood
(babyPatrick)and irresistibly
The Byrnesare farmingstock,
immersedin the worldof news.
the familyhomejust off the M7
Wemet some hoursearlierat
motorwayon the roadto
MountrathGolf Clubjust outside
It was therethatBredaandTom
the CountyLaoistown.It’sunlikely
Byrneraisedtheirsix children
thatClaireor her motherBreda,who
Maura,Fiona,Ann,Claire,Eileen
arrivesshortlyafterher daughter,has
andTommy.It was a country
everswunga golf clubin theirlives.
childhood.The Byrnebroodcycled
“Unfortunatelythey’renot members”, to school,playedin the fieldsand
saysclubpresident,CatherineScully. swamin the localriver.“I’msureit
Butwe’rehere for the sceneryand
was verydangeroustojump intoa
it’simpressive:copsesof talltrees
unscathedby the recentstormand
fairwaysthat go on forever.In the
distanceyou canjust aboutmake
outthe spireof St Fintan’schurch
in Mountrathbesidewhichis the
BrigidineConvent(nowclosed)
whereByrnewent to school.The
journalistand broadcasterwas forged
here,a brightyoungthingboundfor a
6 6 (Gerry)was
loadingthe
dishwasher
and
said,‘Willweget
marriedso?!99
84018
315000mm²
RTE Guide
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Page:
1,12,13,14,15
Circulation:
Area of Clip:
Page 3 of 5
84018
315000mm²
not surewhen.It willbe a small
celebrationwithjust familyand close
friends.We’rebothof the sameview
and whenyou havea baby it makes
the big hugefancycelebrationless
important.The importantthing is that
you’regoingto get married.”
BeforePatrickwas bom,the couple
decidedthatthey didn’twantto know
the baby’sgender.Claire,however,
was utterlyconvincedthat it would
be a girlwithdarkhair.So a babyboy
with fairfeaturescameintothe world,
she was momentarilybewildered.“I
had bothof us convincedthat we were
goingto havethis littledark-haired
girl”,she says.“I lay awakeonenight
thinking‘I wonderhow darkthis baby
is goingto be?’becauseGerryis very
dark.Thenthisboy arriveswith hair
that mightbe strawberryblondeand '
we’rein the deliveryroomlookingat
him, wonderingwho is this person?
So Patrickwas a reservenamebut it.
worksreallywell.”(Claire’slateuncle
was calledPatrick,as was Gerry’s
grandfather).
And she is obsessedwith her ‘dotin’,
sayinghow greathe is andhow he’sa
bit of a joker and all that.Whenwords
fail her,sheproducesher phone.“This
is a photographof Patrickfroma
few daysago”,she says.“Andhere’s
another.Somepeoplecallhim Paddy
but I don’tmind.He’llbe called
whateverhis schoolmatesdecide.He’s
four-and-a-half
monthsnow andhe’s
the boss.”Thenthe otherboss appears,
BredaByrne,the Mammy.Or as
Claireput it recently,THE MAMMY,
the womantheyall deferto for advice
in timesof crisis.“I sometimesask my
mother,‘whatwas I likeas a baby?”’
she says.“I’d ask, ‘WasI sleeping
at night?’You’retryingto figureout
said...” she pausesandlaughs.“I
turnof events,not leastfor someone
free-flowingriver”,saysClaireand
whetheryourbabywas like you.”
shouldn’treallytell youthis!I should
whoreckonedmotherhoodwas not
laughs.“Butwe wereallowedto use
Breda,like allgoodmothers,is
to be. “At 36,1just thought,‘lookit’s makeup a reallyromanticstory.Ah
our commonsensea lotof times.
keepingmum on suchmatters.Yep,
not goingto happenandthat’sfine’”, well.He was loadingthe dishwasher Clairewas a brightchild(and quiet)
I’d likefor Patrickto havethe type
shesays.“Thenthingschangedpretty andsaid,‘Willwe get married
of freedomthatI hadwhenI was
but so wereall the otherchildren
so?’AndI saidto him: ‘Areyou
dramatically.”
growingup, as opposedto being
(one of whom,Ann,is within
proposing?’He saidyes.AndI said,
Indeed.ByrnefirstmetGerryon
cosseted.Of course,I mightchange
earshot).“Clairealwayshad an
‘yesI will!’Andthat was it.”
December18,2011.Thatevening
my opinionlateron!”
interestin currentaffairsand it was
ClaireB has a winningsmileand
at O’Donoghue’s
pub on Dublin’s
Thingschange.Claireknowsthis
what she alwayswantedto do”, she
a naturalwarmth,but thereis a
betterthanmost.In February2013,an MerrionRow,he askedfor a phone
says.“It was strangeI suppose,but
watchfulnesstoo, as if beingburnt
numberand got an emailaddressfor
RTEGuidecoverannouncedPrime
she workedhard.Shedid a lot of
Time’snew line-up:Pat Kennyflanked his troubles(theIT consultanthadn’t before,sheknowsthe score.Her
debatingat schoolandwas goodat it.”
marriageto radioexecutiveRichard
a clueaboutByrne’spublicprofile).
by stalwartPrime Timer,Miriam
Interestingly,
the mammyalsohad an
Johnsonendedafterthreeyears,in the interestin politicsandcurrentaffairs.
Byrne,whowasmarriedbefore,
O’Callaghanandnewfull-timer,
glareof the media,anda subsequent
saysthat sheknewprettyquickly
ClaireByrne.ThenPat departedfor
“I alwayswas a fan of politicsand
long-termrelationshipfizzledout
thatthis couldbe MisterRightand
NewstalkandMiriamwas saying,
currentaffairslongbeforeClairegot
acrimoniously.
Now happiness
latertheyappearedin glossysociety
“there’snevera goodtimeto have
involvedeven”,shesays.“Tomwould
is her lot,as shinyas the antique
magazine,VIP,as if to announceto
babies:just havethemandgo with
ask me sometimes,‘whyare you
engagementring on her finger.Gerry
the world- or at leastthe partthat is
it”. Lessthantwo monthslater,in
watchingthat?’but I loveit. I haveto
pickedit. “We’lldo it at somestage,
Ireland-shaped
- that shehada new
March,Byrnewouldbe engagedand
havethe dailypaperandwatchall the
man.In March2013,Gerryproposed. possiblyby the end of the year”,
currentaffairsshows.Tomis more
thatOctober,shewouldgivebirthto
she saysof the wedding.“I’mjust
her firstchild,Patrick.An unexpected “Hewas loadingthe dishwasherand
into GAA.”
RTEGUIDE 13
Circulation:
Area of Clip:
Page 4 of 5
RTE Guide
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Page:
1,12,13,14,15
84018
315000mm²
Claireand Gerry
ClaireByrnemay haveneverreally
plannedhercareer,as sheregularly
claims,but shealwaysknewwhere
shewasgoing.As a kid,shecutout
TV-shaped
holesin cardboardboxes
andpretendedto presentthenews.At
theageof 12,shereadGayByrne’s
autobiography
(she’sstilla bigfanof
Byrne)andat schoolshewrotelettersto
the Conradhna Gaeilgemagazine(first
timein print)as wellas the editorsof
theSundayTribuneand TheIrishTimes.
Herfirstworkexperienceplacement,
at theage of 14,waswiththeLeinster
Expressbut she got seriouswhenshe
swappedpoliticsandsocialscienceat
UCD(shefeltthe coursewasoriented
toomuchtowardssocialwork)to
studyjournalismat DITin Rathmines.
Fromthen her courseandcareerwas
set.
Byrneis undoubtedlysmartbut
also,perhapscrucially,pragmatic(a
traitthat she shareswithhermother).
“Whenyou’rea womanworking
in thejob that I do peoplethinkthat
you’reveryambitiousandfightingfor
thenextthing”,shesays.“ButI don’t
seekto effectchange:thingsjustcome
to me.”Maybe,butherworkethicis
prodigiousandher focusunwavering.
Afterjournalism,sheworkedin local
radioin WicklowandthenforChannel
103FMin Jersey.In London,she
clockedin forChannel5 andITVNews
beforereturningto Irelandin 1999,
whereshejoinedthenewlylaunched
IrelandAMon TV3as a reporterand
newsanchor.Whenshejumpedto
Newstalk’sbreakfastshowfromTV3’s
5.30pmnewslot(boredwith“just
readingthewords”),the stationpursued
herto theHighCourtovertermsof
contract.
NowByrne,whooncesaidthat
“televisionwasnevertheholygrail”
has a footin bothradioandTV,with
SaturdaywithClaireByrneand
MorningIreland(bothRTERadio1)
andPrimeTime(RTEOne).“I love
beingacrossbothpartsof the dayand
bothpartsof theorganisation”,
says
Circulation:
Area of Clip:
Page 5 of 5
RTE Guide
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Page:
1,12,13,14,15
^ 6 We’lldoit atsomestage,possibly
by
theendoftheyear.It willbea small
celebration
withjustfamily
andclosefriends99
(onherwedding
toGerry)
thebroadcaster
whowasbackat work
tenweeksafterthebirthof Patrick.
“Peoplealwaysaskmewhatmy
dreamjob is andI stilldon’tknow
whatthatis”,shesays.“I’mdoinga
job thatI reallyenjoyrightnowand
I lovethe variety.Whatdo I wantto
do next?I don’tknow.”Yetshehas
alwayspooh-poohed
anysuggestion
thatshemightultimatelycovetthe
job of hostingTheLateLateShow.
“TheLateLateShow",shesays,as if
the verynameitselfwasflammable.
“Everybodyassumesit’san ambition
butit’snot an ambitionforme.”
Thereis steelin Byrne’ssoul.Atthe
timethatthe break-upof hermarriage
wasmakingthenews,shewasalso
battlingin the HighCourt,something
thatshesayswaslesstraumaticthan
it sounds.Therewerefurthertough
times,withthetragicdeathof her
step-daughter,
Hannah,atthe ageof
19(Hannahhadbeentheflowergirl
at herweddingandtheyremained
closeafterthebreak-up).“I doubtthat
there’sanybodywhogetsto my stage
in lifewithoutbeingtouchedby some
sortof sadness,whateverit mightbe”,
shesays.“I don’tthinkthatI’vebeen
througha particularly
hardtimein
comparisonto otherpeople.”
ShequitTwitterlastyear,and
althoughsheannouncedherpregnancy
on Facebook,hasnotreturned,apart
fromusingTwitterto promoteher
Saturdayradioshow.“I wasseeking
verification
formyworkfrom
strangerson Twitter”,shesays.“I
wantedpeopleto tellmethatI had
donea goodjob. SoI wouldgo on
aftera show
to seethe
response.If it
waspositiveI
feltgoodgoing
home.If there
weretwoor
threenegative
commentsI
feltbadgoing
home.There
werea couple
of comments
thatwerevery
personal.So
onedayI asked
myself,‘Why
am I invitingthesepeopleintomy
life?’I workforpeoplewhowilltell
me whetherI’mdoinga goodjob and
willbe quickto tellmewhetherI’m
doinga badjob. I don’tneedthis!’”
Later,we headforByrne’schildhood
hang-out,the villageof Castletown:
picturepostcardbeautiful,fromrustic
millto churningweir,andmurmuring
withmemories.“Seethatbridgeover
there?”saysClairepointingat a steel
bridge.“Thatis whereI hada badfall
frommy bikeandwasknockedout
cold.WhenI wokeup someonewas
standingoverme,askingwhetherI
wasalright?Ofcourse,likeanyyoung
one,Ijustjumpedup andsaidI was
grand.”A fewmomentslater,sheis
lookingintothe depthsof theriver
Nore.“Meandmybrothernearly
drownedin there”,shesays.“We
decidedwe weregoingfora swim
eventhoughwe couldn'tswim.”She
laughsat the fearlessness
andfollyof
youth.“Yeah,I supposeI wasa bit of a
tomboy”,shesays.
Onceupona time,in oneof those
‘MyMoney’questionnaires,
Claire
Byrnesaidthatif shehadan unlimited
supplyof moneyshe’dbuya villaby
theseain Francewithno neighbours.
Shestillhasthatdreambutpriorities
haveshifted.“There’sno pointin
havinga villaby theseaif youdon’t
havethetimeto spendthere”,shesays.
Fornowshe’shappybringingup baby
andbeinga busybroadcaster.
Would
shelikea secondchild?“Hopefully,
butwhenyouhavejust hadoneit’sthe
lastthingyouwantto hearabout”,she
laughs.Thingshavebeenhappeningso
fastthatshe
sometimes
losestrack.
Likethe
factthatthis
willbethis
mother’s
firstever
Mother’s
Day.“Isit?”
Claireasks,
hermouth
a querulous
‘O’.“Oh
I had
forgotten
aboutthat.”
StyledbyRoxanneParker,
roxanneparker.com
Make-upbySheenaO'Brien
Withthanksto Mountrath
GolfClub
Covershot.
Clairewears:
Blueblazer,€50,Rant&Rave,
rantandrave.ie;
Navypatterned
blouse,€35,Rant&Rave;'Ally'navy
jeggings,as before.
Shot1(withhermother)Beige
mac,€329,Tommy
Hilfiger;
Redsilk
blouse,€ 99.90,Tommy
Hilfiger;
Navyopenknitjumper,€34.95,Rant
&Rave,rantandrave.ie;
Navy'Ally'
jeggings,€ 99.90,Tommy
Hilfiger;
Boots,Claire'sown.
Shot3:
Clairewears:
Redblazer,€50,Rant&Rave,www.
rantandrave.ie;
Navylongsleeved
T-shirt,
€34.95,Decollage,
Kilkenny
Shop;Silkredandnavyprintblouse
€164.95,Nougat,Kilkenny
Shop;
Navy'Ally'jeggings,
asbefore.
84018
315000mm²